Breaking Aboriginal stereotypes through Art

"We are often being portrayed negatively in the media," Andrew Pederson, one of the 13 young native artists featured at Art Gallery of Ontario said; "I want to express who we are as native people."
Stereotypes of Native people are engrained in the minds of many Canadians. Films and literatures reinforce those stereotypes for over a hundred years and a lot of news coverage confirms them. The media often centers on political and constitutional issues, forest fires, poverty and substance or sexual abuse, and little attention is given to their culture and achievements. All of these result in an image of inferiority and a loss of self-esteem among the Native youths.
When Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) became a reality in 1999, it opened doors to Aboriginal artists, writers, actors, and producers with the skills and the means to bring Aboriginal people their own images and messages. Now, Canadians are able to watch programming produced by native people, as long as they are willing to surf up to channel 55 and beyond.
The Network alone is not enough to eradicate deeply rooted stereotypes.
On July 8th, an exhibition of art works by Native youths at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) provided a two-folded opportunity to dispel the plague: It opened a platform for the young artists to reacquaint with their heritage, express their identity, and reclaim their right to define who they are; it also allowed the public to unlearn stereotypes and relearn about Aboriginal people.
(Re)represetnation, the first joint venture of the Youth Council at AGO and Native Canadian Centre Toronto (NCCT), brought together 13 Native youths to produce 12 pieces of art work.
Tannis Nielson is the coordinator of the youth program at NCCT. She runs The One Nation in Unity Youth Program which provides a wide range of activities, including sports, art, media, and even historical study of Indian movement.
“Art is what I can offer the most,” Nielson, an artist herself said, “our focus is the reclamation of art and culture.”
From brainstorming to reality, the whole process took about three months – it would not be possible without the generous help from the Native art community.
Facilitator and photographer, Bernard Ceroux, sat down with each of the youth to help them find their messages and give advice to achieve them with art.
“It is a step by step process,” the Métis photographer said, “You need to spend time with each of the artist, get to know them, and help them to discover what their message is.”
“These are city kids, many of them are just discovering, or re-discovering their heritage,” he continued, “this is the root of what they have done here.”
Each of the 12 pieces of artwork was hanged between an archway in the Walker Court at AGO, adjacent to the signature Baroque Stair. While the youths' original idea is to express unity through uniform canvas size and mediums – mixed media of photography and painting on 3’ by 6’ canvas – a deeper tie found its way in their work.
“The continuity among the group is their keen awareness of their traditions and heritage,” said Ceroux while eyeing on each piece that he had personally involved.
Andrew Pederson, who belongs to Horse Lake First Nation in Hythe, Alberta and now resides in Toronto, named his piece, “The Science of Spirituality.”
His work, mainly a black and white piece, was adorned with red and blue to symbolize protection and resolution.
An eye-catching gesture was found near the bottom of the canvas. There, Pederson laid on the ground with his upper back raised, legs drawn up to the buttock, and elbows rested on the ground. The pose belongs to Chacmool, a Mesoamerican stone statue found in ancient Mexican cities and Maya Civilization.
According to Native spirituality, the hands of the statue hold a vessel, disk, or plate on the stomach where offerings may have been placed or human sacrifices are carried out. Pederson incorporated this to signify death, change, and transformation, and placed multiple images of himself in place of sacrifices.
“The one at the centre is the spirit” Andrews explained, “the old person dies in order to bring about change.”
Symbols and images filled his canvas, each carrying specific meanings. The Mathematics symbol represents who he is now as a student; the belt shows that he is an Aztec dancer, a kind of ethnic dancing mainly found in Mexico; the canoe symbolizes travel as in native writings; the Egyptian symbols argue that Indians are not limited to their own traditions and ideologies.
“There is unity among all kinds of people and we are all equal” Pederson believed, “this [the art work] is a universal outlook of the world.”
Across the atrium was a piece which featured a young lady standing in a busy intersection in Toronto.
A singer, business owner, and a clothing designer, Rosary Spence was not intimidated to stand in front of the people. However, placing herself in front of a camera was still a new and thought-provoking adventure for her.
“Being in front of the camera really put me in the state of prophecy. I have to think through what I am doing, and what message I am communicating,” Spence explained as the audience turned to her work, Money Cannot be Eaten, which prophesized against human developments that harmed the environment.
For others, like Tristan Kyle Martell, just being around his peers created “positive energy.”
"We are honouring our Creator by expressing ourselves as who we are,” Martell said. The rest of the artists resonated.
Breaking from stereotypes of Aboriginal people, the evening ended without the presence of drugs, abuse, or death. What filled the air were appreciations of the Indian culture, and the unity of the people in front of, as well as behind the scene.
“These young artists present a positive image of native people. They are role models in people’s eyes now,” Photographer Bernard Creoux was pleased, “The community benefits from the acknowledgement from the public eye.”

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"Tannis Nielson is the coordinator of the youth program at NCCT. She runs The One Nation in Unity Youth Program which provides a wide range of activities, including sports, art, media, and even historical study of Indian movement."

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As a third generation activist perhaps people would like to know that IDLOA has been upholding the Jay Treaty of 1794 & the 1812 Treaty of Ghent since the 1920's.

Clinton Rickard -a chief of the Tuscarora Nation, the Martins of the Six Nations Reserve along with my grandparents- Frank & Teresa Meness of Kitigan Zibi Anishnebeg organized the first march in 1927 following years of harrassment & discrimination from some of the (then)recent European immigrants manning the US/CANADA border - despite the fact that no "overt" official orders had come from Washington to bar Indians specifically.

A traditional Cayugan leader Levi General- Deskaheh, chief of the Younger Bear Clan was mandated by the Six Nations Council to assert Iroquois national rights in an international forum. So traveling to Geneva, Switzerland, in the early 1920s he petitioned the new League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations.

While staying at Chief Rickard's house on the Tuscarora reservation (in New York state) Deskaheh fell ill and sent for his traditional medicine man from the Six Nations Reserve in Canada. But the medicine man was not allowed across the border. The U.S. had just passed the Immigration Law of 1924, which denied entry to anyone who did not speak English-notwithstanding that some of the more recent border guards - newly minted immigrants from Europe couldn't speak English well themselves!!

Although the measure was directed against Asians, covertly it allowed for the barring of North American Indians & thus the traditionally raised medicine man, who did not pass the English test since he only spoke his own language. He didn't make it to Deskaheh, who eventually who passed away in Chief Rickard's house.

On his deathbed in June 1925, Deskaheh told Rickard to "Fight for the line". Later that summer during the Six Nations Chiefs Council National Picnic the chosen successors to Deskaheh's work were:Chauncey Garlow(Mohawk) Alexander J. General(Cayuga)Robert Henhawk(Onondaga) & Clinton Rickard (Tuscarora)& so he devoted his life to defending the right of free passage for Aboriginal people.

This year marked the 82nd continous march across the U.S-CAN border. The celebration is held in Niagara Falls on the third Saturday in July - everyone is welcomed.

In Akwesasne, it evolved into the White Roots of Peace movement. This caravan of tribal elders traveled across the country in the late '60s, carrying a message of traditional revival to Indian communities, on and off reservation. One result was the Bay Area activism that led to the Indian takeover of Alcatraz Island. Another result was the political awakening of Wilma Mankiller.

pgs.64 & 65: "I am referring to the Immigration Act of 1924, sponsored by Senator Hiram Johnson of California. One portion of that Act was aimed at exclusion of Orientials, in keeping with American race prejudice of that day. Secion 13(c) of the Act stated: "No alien ineligible to citizenship shall be admited to the United States." ...Orientals & North American Indians coming into the US from Canada were excluded since Indians weren't considered "Peoples" (until 2007) This Immigration Act therefore made the original inhabitants of this continent the victims of American racial prejudice."

But Canada's Senate choose not to recognize said treaties since they were made while Canada was still a British outpost prior to Confederation in 1867... mind you they'll fight to the death to uphold the MAGNA CARTA of 1215...LOL

After WWII people & the "free world" was thinking about human rights Canada developed it's own citizenship laws & debated offering citizenship to Indians since we had volunteered in greater % than Canadians themselves per capita/population.

Needless to say, "Canadian or American" citizenship is rejected by those of us raised to resist this encroachment of our sovereign rights. The first IDLA Border Crossing Celebration symbolizes the continuous assertion of our sovereignty as Indian Nations. The wampum belts are instrumental in teaching settlers & their gov't about agreements made prior to the formation of both Canada & the USA.

Oren Lyons (Onondaga/Turtle Clan) was born in 1930 and raised in the traditional lifeways of the Haudenosaunee on the Seneca and Onondaga reservations in northern New York State. Chief Lyons has authored or edited numerous books including Native People Address the United Nations (1994); Voice of Indigenous Peoples (1992); and Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution (1992).

"One of Canada's most distinguished and uncompromising documentary filmmakers, Alanis Obomsawin's collected works offer an insightful and unflinching perspective on the social realities facing Canada's First Nations communities.."

Alanis is a strong Abenaki woman & a damn good filmmaker... it is only because of her that the world found out exactly what went on behind the wire at OKA, otherwise you'd have to know to look at the United Nations' ILO submissions to understand the level of martial law the Canadian gov't imposed on the MOHAWK peoples. ( Actually the AFN Library has the submissions- you don't have to go to Geneva...lol)

Three of her other films include: Incident at Restigouche (1984), a powerful depiction of the Quebec police raid of a Micmac reserve; Her 2003 NFB documentary Our Nationhood chronicles the determination and tenacity of the Listuguj Mi'gmaq people to use and manage the natural resources of their traditional lands. The Mi’gmaq of Esgenoopetitj (Burnt Church), New Brunswick were the subject of her 2002 documentary, Is the Crown at war with us?, a powerful and painstakingly researched look at the conflict over fishing rights.

I was at Victoria Island in '74 I personally remember the Canadian sharpshooters keeping us kids in their sights. We watched them through binoculars. It was particularly disturbing since they were dressed as police & every time after that when teachers explained about neighborhood friends - my brothers & I would point out about what our experiences were in regards to policemen & RCMP ( who often came to harass my 80+ yr.old grandmother for the Wampum belts) we were called liars or ridiculed by the teachers so I wish for more of our young people to follow Alanis' examples since Indian communities face martial law every time we attempt to stand up for our civil rights.

In regards to the Cheaslaten of northern B.C. having 24 hrs notice & being burnt out & flooded by Alcan Corp.under the watchful eyes of DIAND? No filmmakers allowed in the late 40's early 50's but a Canadian filmmaker did make a documentary about the history & after effects - Sheila Jordan.

At the United Nation's General Assembly's 61st session, on the 13th September 2007, an overwhelming majority of members resolved to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples[.

Regarding the intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples, the General Assembly recognized "..the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies.."; reaffirmed ".. that indigenous peoples possess collective rights which are indispensable for their existence, well-being and integral development as peoples..; and solemnly proclaimed as an agreed standard for member nations around the world:

Article 11

"Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature."

"States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property taken without their free, prior and informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions and customs."

According to the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, (ICH) – or living heritage – is the mainspring of humanity's cultural diversity and its maintenance a guarantee for continuing creativity.

Intangible Cultural Heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity. For the purposes of this Convention, consideration will be given solely to such intangible cultural heritage as is compatible with existing international human rights instruments, as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups and individuals, and of sustainable development.

This Convention - like the World Heritage Convention - developed a listing system. The Intergovernmental Committee is currently working on criteria and procedures, and first inscriptions will be made in 2008 or 2009.

Intangible cultural heritage is slightly different from the discipline of oral history, ICH attempts to preserve cultural heritage 'with' the people or community by protecting the processes that allow traditions and shared knowledge to be passed on while oral history seeks to collect and preserve historical information obtained from individuals and groups.

Contact the: museum @woodland-centre.on.ca - I am fairly sure they had put together an event in the 1990's after OKA on the presentation of Aboriginal peoples in the mainstream media & the inaccuracies in historical documentation - called " Feathers & Fluff ( I think) ..lol

"Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond explores the portrayal of North American aboriginals through the eyes of Hollywood in the documentary Reel Injun. (NFB)

The screening of Neil Diamond’s film Reel Injun last night left the sold-out audience laughing, gasping with shock and, at times, cheering.

Reel Injun is a documentary that examines the 100-year history of Native American portrayals in cinema, and Hollywood’s role in shaping people’s perceptions of the Indian, from classic westerns to Disney’s Pocahontas. Part of the process involved Diamond taking a road trip through the United States in a “rez” car to interview people.

In one memorable sequence, Diamond visits a summer camp north of Montreal where young boys are taught about “real Indian” life and values by an exclusively non-native staff. An overzealous camp counsellor from Austria happily tells Diamond that he has learned all of his native wisdom from film, and it is evident. The boys separate into tribes, paint their faces, yell and end up looking like they’re re-enacting a scene of the Lost Boys out of the Dustin Hoffman movie Hook."

I will publish both comment because cbc.ca buried it...not found even if you do a google search of my name: Donna Meness..too radical I guess...lol

First Comment:

My my how far our people have come since I was young & was stuck watching those ethnocentric spagetti western &Tonto & whatshisname. Who knew "Roy Rodgers" was Aboriginal!

When I was small it was "Little Big Man" about a white boy learning to be an Indian & maybe Chief Dan George or Will Sampson. For my eldest daughter it was "Dances with Wolves" about a white man learning to be an Indian or Gary Farmer's(Cayuga) "PowWow Highway"

I think he should be honoured for his cultural work establishing our collective path to ensuring our voices are heard- Along with Buffy Ste. Marie since she started a foundation in 1969 I think & multi-media cross cultural educational software at the request of her sister who teaches on their reserve. Gary Farmer has worked hard for us as noted below:

1)Aboriginal Voices, a magazine about indigenous arts published from 1993-1999.

2)Aboriginal Voices Festival, (1998-2000)

3)Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR), currently broadcasts from 106.5 FM Toronto and streams at www.aboriginalradio.com. The network holds licenses to broadcast in eight Canadian cities, currently establishing the stations in Ottawa and Vancouver. AVR webcasts have included live coverage of numerous Native events, including film festivals and the recent opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

4) his films

5) his music

So now we had APTN for a couple of years now -as recommended by the RCAP report I think..

& Adam Beach has lease 10 channels from an online broadcast company and hopes to provide a slate of indigenous programming by and for the aboriginal community.

I think about all the youth on the 633 reserves, let alone the Metis communites & Inuit settlements.

3) help organize your Nation's AGM & plan to deal with settler govenments unified, try to be pro-active rather than con't being reactive. Fight the good fight, use your rightous anger to Nation building activities.

4) deposit your university papers with the AFN library so others can draw on your work & your work is recognized in the "footnotes" & biblio of others.

5) make a special effort to attend the idloa's annual "Bordercrossing Celebration held yearly in Niagra Fall every third Saturday in July- since 1929!! FYI: www.idloa.org

I say this because many our own people lack historical & cultural knowledge and are poorer - in all aspects - for it! There are at least two generations of our people that lost all- let alone the ripples of muti-generational lateral trauma being felt through out all of "INDIAN COUNTRY" today.

I say cross-cultural presentations for settlers because for change to happen on Tutle Island we need their people to press their gov'ts to settle landclaims & uphold the various nation to nation treaties & it's a good way for them to "decompress" from the "collective guilt of the ethnocentric process of colonialism" committed by their gov't on their behalf.

They can joined CASNP- should they wish to really help out (I miss the "RAGING GRANNIES" from the 1990's - they used satire through song- to shamed their leaders)or participate in letter writing & stand behind us while we attempt negotiations on a broad range of unsettled issues.

Also if some true brotherhood is established, maybe some would then show up at protests & blockades against mining & logging, oil & gas muli-national corporations & therefore bear witness to the matial law tactics ie)SWAT TEAM used on us every time we attempted to stand up for ourselves & inform the mainstream media or post them on U-Tube.

What I am saying is we need more Kevin Arnetts -since he has had his "eyes wide open" & the Canadian establishment has attempted in all ways to refute his accusations & proof of genocide committed on our people...(www.hidenfromhistory.org)

After all the late Clinton Rickard (Tuscarora) used cross-cultual presentations & the wampum belts (entrusted to my family in the 1920's at a time when the official & covert response was capture all ceremonial artifacts through any means possible - outright confiscation/liquor/"trade" or a bullet) to regular Ameicans & their gov't reps to educate & develop relationships which in turn helped when Indians " got their horns caught on the wire" while bordercrossing since the US enacted it's citizenship laws in 1924 to ensure Asians didn't get in -alas it was used to deny Indigenous people as well since many couldn't pass the English test given. He was given that task by Deskaheh who died without access to his medicne people cause they were turned away at the border..copy & paste http://idloa.org/pages/deskaheh.html -for more info.

Contact the: museum @woodland-centre.on.ca - I am fairly sure they had put together an event in the 1990's after OKA on the presentation of Aboriginal peoples in the mainstream media & the inaccuracies in historical documentation - called " Feathers & Fluff ( I think) ..lol

"Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond explores the portrayal of North American aboriginals through the eyes of Hollywood in the documentary Reel Injun. (NFB)

The screening of Neil Diamond’s film Reel Injun last night left the sold-out audience laughing, gasping with shock and, at times, cheering.

Reel Injun is a documentary that examines the 100-year history of Native American portrayals in cinema, and Hollywood’s role in shaping people’s perceptions of the Indian, from classic westerns to Disney’s Pocahontas. Part of the process involved Diamond taking a road trip through the United States in a “rez” car to interview people.

In one memorable sequence, Diamond visits a summer camp north of Montreal where young boys are taught about “real Indian” life and values by an exclusively non-native staff. An overzealous camp counsellor from Austria happily tells Diamond that he has learned all of his native wisdom from film, and it is evident. The boys separate into tribes, paint their faces, yell and end up looking like they’re re-enacting a scene of the Lost Boys out of the Dustin Hoffman movie Hook."

I will publish both comment because cbc.ca buried it...not found even if you do a google search of my name: Donna Meness..too radical I guess...lol

First Comment:

My my how far our people have come since I was young & was stuck watching those ethnocentric spagetti western &Tonto & whatshisname. Who knew "Roy Rodgers" was Aboriginal!

When I was small it was "Little Big Man" about a white boy learning to be an Indian & maybe Chief Dan George or Will Sampson. For my eldest daughter it was "Dances with Wolves" about a white man learning to be an Indian or Gary Farmer's(Cayuga) "PowWow Highway"

I think he should be honoured for his cultural work establishing our collective path to ensuring our voices are heard- Along with Buffy Ste. Marie since she started a foundation in 1969 I think & multi-media cross cultural educational software at the request of her sister who teaches on their reserve. Gary Farmer has worked hard for us as noted below:

1)Aboriginal Voices, a magazine about indigenous arts published from 1993-1999.

2)Aboriginal Voices Festival, (1998-2000)

3)Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR), currently broadcasts from 106.5 FM Toronto and streams at www.aboriginalradio.com. The network holds licenses to broadcast in eight Canadian cities, currently establishing the stations in Ottawa and Vancouver. AVR webcasts have included live coverage of numerous Native events, including film festivals and the recent opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

4) his films

5) his music

So now we had APTN for a couple of years now -as recommended by the RCAP report I think..

& Adam Beach has lease 10 channels from an online broadcast company and hopes to provide a slate of indigenous programming by and for the aboriginal community.

I think about all the youth on the 633 reserves, let alone the Metis communites & Inuit settlements.

3) help organize your Nation's AGM & plan to deal with settler govenments unified, try to be pro-active rather than con't being reactive. Fight the good fight, use your rightous anger to Nation building activities.

4) deposit your university papers with the AFN library so others can draw on your work & your work is recognized in the "footnotes" & biblio of others.

5) make a special effort to attend the idloa's annual "Bordercrossing Celebration held yearly in Niagra Fall every third Saturday in July- since 1929!! FYI: www.idloa.org

I say this because many our own people lack historical & cultural knowledge and are poorer - in all aspects - for it! There are at least two generations of our people that lost all- let alone the ripples of muti-generational lateral trauma being felt through out all of "INDIAN COUNTRY" today.

I say cross-cultural presentations for settlers because for change to happen on Tutle Island we need their people to press their gov'ts to settle landclaims & uphold the various nation to nation treaties & it's a good way for them to "decompress" from the "collective guilt of the ethnocentric process of colonialism" committed by their gov't on their behalf.

They can joined CASNP- should they wish to really help out (I miss the "RAGING GRANNIES" from the 1990's - they used satire through song- to shamed their leaders)or participate in letter writing & stand behind us while we attempt negotiations on a broad range of unsettled issues.

Also if some true brotherhood is established, maybe some would then show up at protests & blockades against mining & logging, oil & gas muli-national corporations & therefore bear witness to the matial law tactics ie)SWAT TEAM used on us every time we attempted to stand up for ourselves & inform the mainstream media or post them on U-Tube.

What I am saying is we need more Kevin Arnetts -since he has had his "eyes wide open" & the Canadian establishment has attempted in all ways to refute his accusations & proof of genocide committed on our people...(www.hidenfromhistory.org)

After all the late Clinton Rickard (Tuscarora) used cross-cultual presentations & the wampum belts (entrusted to my family in the 1920's at a time when the official & covert response was capture all ceremonial artifacts through any means possible - outright confiscation/liquor/"trade" or a bullet) to regular Ameicans & their gov't reps to educate & develop relationships which in turn helped when Indians " got their horns caught on the wire" while bordercrossing since the US enacted it's citizenship laws in 1924 to ensure Asians didn't get in -alas it was used to deny Indigenous people as well since many couldn't pass the English test given. He was given that task by Deskaheh who died without access to his medicne people cause they were turned away at the border..copy & paste http://idloa.org/pages/deskaheh.html -for more info.

David Kanietakeron Fadden has some ambitious projects in mind for his career as an artist.

The aim, for now, is to dispel the stereotype that native peoples are stoic and mirthless.

"My work shows Native American faces are more expressive than that," Fadden said. "There are so many images showing us as stoic and never smiling. It could be the photos out there. They keep the stereotype alive that we're these noble savages, but I grew up in a household with a lot of laughter."

The dual U.S.-Canadian citizen was born in Lake Placid, N.Y., and grew up in Onchiota watching his father, John, illustrate books, something the young Fadden started out mimicking with his crayons on the walls of the family's home.

His father soon gave him a sketch pad and pencil instead, then at the age of 19 gave him his first job co-illustrating a book.

Fadden painted the Adirondack Mountains, animals and the Mohawk people as he matured.